Wealth for Mind, Body and Wallet

February 23, 2013March 8, 2013

To Papi with love. Tax time!

It was the mid 1980s and my stepdad, “Papi”, would spend hours in the house office on taxes. I didn’t get it.

“Totally”.

I was off to California to become the next Jane Goodall ( these are dreams of an 18 year old). I started as a veterinarian assistant and at that time thought $6.50 an hour was a lot if money and graveyard shift was not so bad. I mopped floors at 3 am while a parrot named Julio would sit on my shoulder and screech “hola! Brrrring!” And poo on my hoodie. Where was National Geographic? The interesting chimpanzees? We did get a python with a cold once and a crazy breeder who wanted all her poodles dyed mauve to match the carpet. And her hair.

After my first year, I got my W2 that could have been written in Chinese for all I knew. I did the paper 1040EZ form and OWED $500.

Omg.

$500. Where was I going to get that kind of money?

I needed help. Papi was great with money and I was terrified and ashamed to ask. But I did. And he was kind. And used it as a teaching moment instead of a lecture.

Each tax season that rolls around, I remember this kind gesture. And today I think about taxes daily. How can I minimize while being a responsible citizen? Is our government using the tax money wisely? Etc.